Penance is a Sacrifice
Chapter Twenty-One
Down inside the former Evil Queen's vault…
Regina entered the chamber beneath the mausoleum that had become her private sanctuary once Storybrooke was created, until her dark curse had been broken and she remained the villainess she had been until her son and their friends, now family had saved her. Zelena and Emma both followed closely behind her, and together they began to come up with a way to find where Bo Peep had taken Snow, as well as a way to save her and to take the former warlord down before she hurt her.
The Queen glanced back towards her friend and sister once she was standing in front of her magic mirror as she waited for them to stand with her, then she faced the mirror and waved her hands over the glass while Emma spoke up in confusion saying, "I thought you needed Sidney inside your mirror to make it work. You know… 'Mirror, mirror on the wall…' and all that? That is why you trapped him inside it before, isn't it?"
The former Wicked Witch answered for her sister, "We've since made improvements ever since Regina and I have started making amends. Until I lost my own magic, that is. When I was in Oz, I was always able to see whatever I wanted to in other realms without using some poor old genie trapped inside of it. I helped Regina learn the spell I used so she too could cast it over her own magic mirror."
"And right now, we're going to use my mirror to find Snow and Peep," Regina responded with a grin, as she waited for the fog within the Mirror Realm to clear before new images appeared before them that revealed exactly what they hoped it would. "Well… it looks like Peep's taken Snow to the boathouse. The question is… why?"
"I don't really care why," the Savior retorted curtly, while she watched as the villainess dragged her mother along behind her inside the structure and along the docks. "I just want to get in so I can save Mom, then get back to Killian and Dad."
She was about to wave her hands over her body so she could poof herself there, until Regina quickly called out, "Emma… wait! You heard what your father said. That woman may not have her own power like we do, but she isn't powerless either. If we go in there without some kind of plan, Peep could kill your mother before you have the chance to save her. We need to outsmart her."
Zelena looked over at her sister again as she replied, "I gather you have an idea, sis."
"Actually, I think I do," the Queen answered smugly, then she turned around and looked between the two women waiting for her to continue. "Only, I'm not so sure you're going to like it much, sis. But if you don't mind, I'd like to take a page out of your playbook."
"No…" the witch responded warily, as she started to have a pretty good idea about what her sister was thinking just then. "No. You wouldn't."
Regina waved her hand over Zelena, engulfing her within a purple cloud of magic while she smiled again and replied, "Come on… at least you won't be completely powerless yourself."
Meanwhile…
After the villain and Snow left the harbor and entered inside the boathouse as Peep dragged Snow along behind her, the Princess finally questioned, "What are we doing here? Are you hoping to row away from Storybrooke with me as your prisoner? Because you won't get far."
"Quiet," Bo answered curtly.
"Look… I know things haven't necessarily been easy for you since we've all arrived here in this world," Snow said again, as she attempted to try to help the other woman instead of struggling against her. "I don't know anything about being a butcher and I know that you're not welcomed anywhere because people here probably still see you as a villain… though to be fair, a villain is exactly what you're being right now by kidnapping me and hurting my husband like you did. But you can be more if you would just…"
The former warlord glared back at the Princess again, until she suddenly shoved her down on the floorboards beneath their feet in front of one of the turned over rowboats behind her once they reached the end of the docks, then snidely asked, "Do you ever get tired of trying to turn all villains into heroes? You can stop trying that with me. I'm not interested. I don't care to be one of you, I don't care about being liked, and I don't care one way or another about being a butcher. It certainly isn't the worst job here I could have gotten. What I do want, is to become the warlord I used to be again, and to have all of you fear me like you do the few remaining villains out there left unmarked by your deluded hero making efforts. I'm getting out of here and you're going to come with me."
Snow looked around, then turned back to her as she questioned, "Like I asked you before… how are you expecting to do that?"
"By summoning an old acquaintance with this," Bo Peep responded with a grin as she pulled something small from her jacket's pocket and lowered it within the palm of her hand to show it to the hero, revealing what appeared to be an ancient coin of sorts. "I stole it from Gold's shop earlier."
"An old coin?" the Princess uttered still out of confusion while she tried to think about who the villainess was talking about. "BB. Wait… you don't mean… Black Beard? You can't!"
Peep stared down at the coin as she replied, "Sorry, lambkins. I'm not sure what's come of him, but I'm willing to stake my life on the belief that he's out there sailing the seas and being his villainous self, like I myself will be again too."
She raised her hand that held the coin above her head and tossed it into the ocean as far out as she could. However, from out of nowhere and much to Peep's and Snow's surprise, a flying monkey screeched from above them as it suddenly swooped down to catch the coin in midair just before it could hit the water, then hovered above them when Regina and Emma appeared as well. Armed and ready to fight if the villain refused to surrender to them.
Unfortunately, Bo grasped her crook and struck its end down against the dock to send out a wave of magic to knock the Savior and former Evil Queen off their feet as she branded them like so many others, then swiftly bent down to grab Snow in order to yank her back up onto her feet before she pulled the Princess out in front of her to keep her captive between her and the other heroes.
Upon her doing so, Emma raised her gun she was holding in her hands higher at the woman as she cried out, "Mom!"
"It's okay, Emma!" Snow shouted out to her daughter. "I'm okay."
"I suggest all of you stay back," the warlord ordered angrily while she kept her eyes between Emma, Regina, as well as on the monkey now sitting upon one of the rafters above them. "All I'm trying to do is get out of this perfect little town of yours. I got enough vengeance against the so called hero your father proclaimed himself to be, Savior. I kidnapped his wife and can hope he died from the injury I rendered to him. But then I never believed much in hope. Give back the coin… and I'll let her go."
Emma glared at Peep while she retorted, "Forgive me if I don't trust you. Let my mother go first, then we can talk and I might just let you leave Storybrooke… but only if you cooperate."
Regina raised her eyes towards the creature and nodded upon seeing ahead of time what Bo's decision was going to be, then before they could stop her, the villainess suddenly pulled Snow forward as she shoved her off the dock towards the ocean beneath them. Fortunately, the flying monkey immediately swooped down again and caught the Princess just before she was fully submerged within the waters, then pulled her out and flew with her to safety.
In the moment Bo Peep shoved her mother forward, Emma quickly holstered her gun and together she and Regina fired their magic simultaneously at the former warlord, who screamed out when she was suddenly forced her off her feet as she flew back through the air behind her until she landed hard within one of the upturned boats behind her. She cried out in pain when she landed, but Peep struggled to stand again once she made it back out of the boat, then faced the heroes again.
Emma walked over to where the crook had fallen against the dock and bent down to pick it up as the villain rose back to her feet and screamed, "That belongs to me!"
"Not anymore it doesn't," Regina answered, then swiftly fired her own magic again at the shepherdess and swiftly transformed her into a sheep with a pink bow tied perfectly around her neck.
"I'll transform you back into yourself once we get you locked away and secured within your new prison among the rest of the villains, who also refuse to accept we don't take kindly to those we loved being harmed," the Queen added smugly and then began to laugh at the sight of Bo Peep becoming the very animal she once herded.
The flying monkey flew down again with Snow still safely within its grasp until the creature released her so that she was standing in front of her daughter, and both Emma and Snow immediately embraced one another before the Savior used her magic to break the zip tie which still bound her mother's hands together.
Once they pulled apart and Emma did so, Snow suddenly remembered her husband being struck over his head as she cried out, "David! Is he… Is he okay?"
The Savior smiled sadly and nodded as she responded, "Dad's fine, Mom. He made it back to the hospital and told us what happened while I healed him. He's okay. Just worried about you, is all."
"Oh… thank God," the older Princess replied with relief, then hugged her daughter again before she turned her head upon seeing the flying monkey that had saved her land on the dock next to Regina. "Regina… who is that? Since when did we still have flying monkeys around Storybrooke?"
"We don't," Zelena answered crossly, after Regina waved her hands over the creature and transformed it back into her sister once again as she became engulfed within purple magic like before. "The powerless witch who allowed her sister to turn me into one of my own creatures I once taunted each of you with. I suppose I did deserve that. Just don't ever do it again, Regina. I'm warning you, right now."
Snow stepped back from her daughter, then walked over to the former villainess and embraced her as well much to Zelena's surprise, while she responded, "Thank you, Zelena. For saving me. I mean it."
Emma and Regina both smiled when the older sister hugged the Princess back and sincerely replied, "You're welcome. But enough of this lovey dovey stuff. Let's get back to the others so we can try to help the pirate."